Wow! All of a sudden it seems like there are all sorts of messages about posts being deleted. Does that make any sense to any of you people that have been around for a while? I'll bet it doesn't. It doesn't to me either. If anything, I usually get lambasted for NOT deleting posts from some of the more obnoxious folks that have made their way through here over the years.

I am starting to notice a pattern though. Most of the people that are complaining are people that are posting anonymously with an AOL IP address. Boy, does that ever sound familiar. Don't get me wrong, there are lots of GREAT AOL users on this board, but because of AOL's policies, all the trolls come from AOL as well.

The policy here about deleting messages is pretty simple:

1) All troll messages are deleted.
2) All messages after the troll message in a thread are deleted.

Now for the little twist. Sometimes the troll will try to slip by a post by not acting like a troll. We try to delete those also. Guess what the characteristics of those posts are? They have an invalid or missing email address and they have an AOL IP address. Does anyone notice a pattern here?

If you are posting anonymously from an AOL IP address with an invalid or missing email address then you might as well get used to the fact that some of your posts will get deleted. If you dress up like a troll, chances are that you will get treated like one.

What's the solution? Don't dress up like a troll is the best solution. Some will say that they have this reason or that to want to remain anonymous, well, ok, but then you have to understand that for the reasons above, you are likely to be treated like a troll. Why remain anonymous anyway? You won't get much respect here. How much respect can you give someone who won't reveal their identity. I wouldn't trade chips with an anonymous person. I wouldn't take advice from an anonymous person. Why be here if you fear revealing yourself?

All that being said, I have always tried to see both sides of every issue. If you want to remain anonymous to the people on this board and have a valid reason for doing so, then here is what you can do.

1) Email me your real name, address and phone number.
2) Send me a valid email address.
3) Explain why you wish to remain anonymous.

I will assign you an anonymous name to use when posting on the board and will instruct my helpers not to delete your posts just because they are anonymous. I won't share your real details with anyone except possibly the 4 people that help me keep an eye on the board. They won't share your name with anyone.

Now, lets get back to chip collecting!

Greg